Every Sinner Has a Future
by MadCheshire
Summary: AU: Dean's life is quite normal with normal problems. His father got hospitalized and he is sorting out his life after breaking up with his long-time girlfriend. What he did not expect was his childhood friend Castiel, who happens to be an angel, showing up at his door after 11 years and ending up in a crazy mess he might not survive. Destiel! Rated M for slash in future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Castiel settled on a park bench in the middle of a busy weekend afternoon. He found himself childish after running from heaven because of some fight his siblings were having. He disliked conflicts and lately he had these little escapes to earth whenever something annoying happened. At those times he could trust in a little human child called Jimmy Novak, who happily loaned his body to Castiel for an hour or two once in a while.

"Why are you alone over here?" Castiel lifted his downcast eyes in wonder, only to face a kid no more than 5 years old. He was slightly taller than Castiel's vessel and had a wide grin spread on his lips.

Castiel blinked, hiding his deep blue eyes for a second before opening his mouth: "I ran away from home because of my siblings' fight." He said bluntly and looked closely at the human boy, whose light freckles on the nose took most of Castiel's attention.

The boy frowned in thought and sat next to Castiel. "Oh." He muttered, not really knowing what else to say. "I don't know much about stuff like that. My brother is so small that he can barely talk so…" His voice trailed off in embarrassment. "But fights are bad! My parents have them sometimes." He continued suddenly in a louder voice.

"Yes, they are." Castiel answered, still being kind of amazed because of the boy.

The boy nods. "That's what I thought. I hope I won't get into fights with my brother when he gets older." He smiled while talking, which was somewhat new to the young angel. It still made him feel warm inside. "I'm Dean." The boy, Dean, announced.

Castiel returned from his trailed off thoughts at that declaration. He repeated it inside his head a few times and was quite sure that he had heard that name somewhere. "I'm Castiel, angel of the Lord." He mumbled, recalling that telling your name was a way humans use to get to know each other.

"Angel?" Dean's eyes lit up as he said the word. "Like the ones my mom talks about? They look over people and protect them."

Castiel bit his lip nervously. "Y-Yes." He stuttered, knowing clearly that it wasn't always like that. Not like he could tell the truth to a small child.

Dean's grin widened from before, to Castiel's surprise. "Awesome! I can't wait to tell everyone about meeting an actual angel!" He cheered.

Castiel smiled, but only slightly, at the child's innocence. Dean looked down in small embarrassment. His mouth was open as he tried to get words out of his mouth and Castiel was curious about it. His head nudged to the left and he had a puzzled look on his face. "Is there something wrong, Dean?" He questioned and Dean's head shot up.

"I'm just being curious. My mom says angels are _really_ old, but you look the same age as I! I mean… How old are you?" There was a reddish hint across Dean's cheeks.

Castiel was actually quite surprised by the question. Why was he embarrassed about asking that? "I am… _really old_ like you said. This is just my temporary vessel that I'm borrowing. Normal people cannot see my true form."

Dean nodded. "I see! So you have wings in your true form? Those big white ones?" Castiel could clearly see the boy's excitement. Truly, an interesting human child.

"I do have wings, in this form too actually, but I do believe they are what you call black."

Dean was about to open his mouth again, but was stopped by a voice calling for him. "Dean! Where are you?"

Dean turned around and immediately ran towards the woman searching for him. "Mom!" He yelled happily and jumped into her arms. Castiel watched this and couldn't help but wonder how Dean's mother looked familiar. It took him a while before he put the puzzle pieces together and connected the dots. A single name came into his head and suddenly it seemed so clear: _Winchester._

Castiel swallowed and got up from the bench. Oh if his siblings would find about this he would be in so much trouble. To be involved with _that_ Dean Winchester. Definitely not a good thing.

Castiel hesitated before he disappeared. It might be a bad thing that he met the boy, but it certainly didn't feel like it.

* * *

**Seven years later**

There was no denying the fact that time went painfully slow on Friday afternoons as the last minutes of the last class passed. It was the same for everyone. It was the weekend, time for fun. For Dean, however the class seemed like forever and the weekend wasn't the reason. He fidgeted and kept eyeing the clock. The teacher glared at him, but decided to ignore the boy, it was Dean after all.

The bell finally rang loudly to sign the end of the lesson and Dean immediately jumped up. Among the first ones he was out of the classroom and running towards the exit, excitement bubbling inside of him. He was so much in hurry that he didn't even notice his brother Sam and just ran past him. His enthusiasm was completely understandable, though. They hadn't met in at least for two weeks after all.

They agreed to meet in the park, but Dean made a detour. Just a slight one to pick up those cheeseburgers they always liked to eat. Then he rushed towards their agreed meeting place, arriving 13 minutes too early. "Cas?" He called the angel's name softly, just to make sure he is around.

"Hello Dean." Dean turned around and faced Castiel. How he loved to see that slight, awkward smile on those lips.

Dean grinned widely and lifted up the hand he was holding a paper bag with. "I brought burgers!" He announced and slipped to sit on the nearest bench. He started digging the bag, but Castiel still stood. "You're not eating?" He asked, but threw a burger at Castiel at the same time.

Castiel caught the burger easily. "But, I don't have to-"

"You like them right?" Dean interrupted as he sunk his teeth into his meal hungrily. He rolled his eyes and pulled Castiel on the bench. "And don't pretend like you don't! I've known you for 7 years and I know you like them, so eat!"

Sighing in defeat, Castiel opened the wrapper and took a bite. "These do make me happy." He chuckled slightly.

Dean laughed loudly. They talked a lot after that, going from everyday things to personal problems. He had noticed it himself, too, but Dean was a lot more open about his feelings around Castiel and he didn't mind it at all. He found the other kids at school boring and too childish, while Castiel, even with his weird quirks and social awkwardness, was much more interesting.

* * *

**Five years later**

Dean pushed the girl gently against his mattress and their lips met. It was only kissing they did, their mouths crashing against each other, experimenting, and they maybe occasionally moved, but even then it was just light caressing. Dean was fine with it, he knew that women should be respected and never pushed them further than they are comfortable with. He had noticed that it apparently paid off, as women were really into gossiping. Without noticing, Dean had become the most wanted guy in the whole school in only few months' time.

"Hello Dean." Dean almost jumped at that low, rough voice he'd recognise anywhere.

His head turned around and he raised his eyebrows at Castiel standing at the door. "Dammit Cas, can't you see I'm busy?" he growled.

Castiel shrugged. "I apologise, Dean. I didn't know. I just thought I could visit you, since I haven't seen you in a month."

Dean frowned and rushed to grab Castiel before the guy vanished off completely again. "Okay, okay. Sorry that I snapped, so please stay. We haven't hanged out in such a long time." Then he turned back to the girl, who remained on the bed, confused. "I hope you don't mind, it's just…"

The girl chuckled and shook her head. "You haven't seen in a month, right?" She got up, moved next to Dean and planted a long, deep kiss on his lips. "You better make this up to me. Come tomorrow to my place." She whispered before leaving.

"You have a new girlfriend again." Castiel said bluntly and broke Dean from his daze.

"So?" He muttered and collapsed on his bed. "Cassie broke up with me about three weeks ago and last week Lisa asked me out." He rolled on his back. "I tell you man, girls get jealous really easily. I'm not even the kind of guy to cheat, but they immediately suspect that, since I'm so popular!"

Castiel sat next to him and looked confused. "I'm not the best person to consult this about, but isn't it at least partly your fault? I mean, it's still your behaviour that makes them suspicious."

Dean grabbed a pillow and shoved it straight into Castiel's face. "Oh shut up Cas!" Castiel struggled, but Dean pushed the pillow back into his face and before they noticed it, both fell off the bed.

Castiel ended up lying on his back on the floor and Dean was directly above him. They stared at each other for a moment before Dean started to laugh uncontrollably. "Dean? Is everything alright?" Castiel questioned and was, in fact, quite surprised by this.

"Sorry Cas…" Dean said while still chuckling. "I just couldn't help but laugh." He got up, and then helped Castiel and smiled. "I'm just kind of glad to know you."

Castiel made that trademark head tilting of his when he was confused. "What do you mean?"

"No, nothing at all."

* * *

**_AN: I've been in a writers block for over half a year now, so I immediately jumped at this inspiration when I got it. I'm not 100% sure where I'm going with this story, but I think I'll pretty much go with the flow._**

**_The actual story really doesn't get to begin in this one, but I wanted to write out these memories as a base for it. Anyway, I'm kind of excited to write this, so the next chapter will probably be up in a week or so._**

**_Also, English is not my first language, so please forgive me for any grammar or spelling mistakes and if you notice some of them, just let me know!_**


	2. Chapter 2

Led Zeppelin's Ramble On started playing in the almost dead-silent garage and Dean slipped out from under the car. He made sure to wipe his hands before he grabbed his phone and answered it in a slightly annoyed tone. "Yeah?"

"Dude, where are you? You were supposed to pick me up from the airport." It was Sam on the other end, seeming definitely more pissed off.

There was a small pause when Dean glanced the clock and realised he was at least 20 minutes late. "Fuck, sorry, I didn't look at the time. I'm at work right now, but I'll head there now."

Sam snorted at the other end. "I already took a taxi, since you were taking so long. Just make sure you're at home when I arrive or I'll seriously kill you." He said sarcastically.

"Okay, I'll see you there." Dean said and hung up before Sam got time to reply. Then he already rushed out and met Bobby on his way out. "I'm leaving early to see Sammy." He blurted out before the old man got to say anything.

Bobby muttered something in response, but Dean didn't quite get it and honestly, his guess probably came close anyway, so he didn't pay much attention to it. He got inside his Impala and drove to his apartment in about five minutes.

First he made his way to the shower to quickly wash off the oil stains from his skin, which didn't take more than few minutes. As he proceeded to get clean clothes from his closet, he realised that he hadn't done his laundry in a while, so there really wasn't anything to wear. He started going through his clothes spread all over the floor while cursing his break up with Lisa, since she wasn't there to do his laundry when he didn't have time. Finally, he found a pair of jeans that at least looked and smelled okay and a shirt that had something on the sleeve, but Dean hid it by wearing a jacket. Rest of the clothes he gathered quickly and threw them in one pile in his room and closed the door behind him. That he would take care of later.

Sighing in relief, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and lied on the couch for few minutes before he heard a knock on the door. Dean rolled of the couch and made his way to the front door. Behind was, like he expected, no other than Sam Winchester. A grin spread on Dean's lips upon seeing his little brother. "Sammy!" He breathed out and made way for him to come in.

"I still haven't forgiven you for dumping me at the airport." Sam commented as he stepped in carrying a huge suitcase.

Dean laughed as he closed the door. "Man, for how long you planned on staying?"

Sam rolled his eyes before setting down the suitcase and heading to the fridge to steal a beer from Dean. "For now I took off for the rest of the semester. I can take more time off if needed."

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Of course it is!" Sam chuckled and took a sip from his beer. "You need help, right? I mean, you just moved to a new place after breaking up with Lisa, you work your ass off at the garage and on top off that you make sure dad is okay."

Dean collapsed on the couch again and stared at the bottle of beer while biting his lip. "What about your studies?"

"It's not a problem Dean. I just want to make sure you two are doing okay here and honestly, I don't believe I could even concentrate. Jess is okay with it too, she thinks I should be here with my family." Sam settled on the other end of the sofa.

They talked about various things after that. About Sam's life in the university, about Dean and Lisa's break up, about normal things. Neither of them brought up their dad at any point, though. Both of them know that ending up in hospital was, at least partly, their dad's own fault. After their mother Mary had died in an accident a few years back John Winchester had buried his sorrow in alcohol and in these weird, long road trips that he went on by himself. The first few times Sam and Dean had gone crazy with worry, reporting him to the police and searching him from everywhere. After a while these trips became an everyday thing. John would disappear and come back however he pleased and never told his boys where he went. Not like the never asked it either. They just decided to give John some space.

A couple of hours and one phone call later the doorbell rang and caught Dean's attention. "That must be the pizza." He said to Sam before rushing to the door.

Dean grabbed his wallet from a table on his way and looked through the bills while he opened the door with his other hand. "Sure took you long enough." He muttered and tried to find the smaller bills he had, not even once looking up. "Is 20 bucks enough?"

"I'm afraid you have mistaken me for someone else." It was a low and rough voice that seemed familiar to Dean. His head shot up to meet familiar pair of deep blue eyes. That dark brown hair still as messy as ever, short stubble covering the chin, it all was so familiar and yet so unknown at the same time. Then that slight, awkward smile and the two words Dean had once loved to hear. "Hello Dean."

He couldn't utter a single word for almost a minute. "Cas" He finally whispered, in a voice that was probably higher pitched than it had ever been. He glanced back quickly, only to see Sam watching TV and drinking his third beer. He swallowed and stepped into the hallway with Castiel. "Dude, where the hell have you been?!" He hissed when the door closed behind him.

"My apologies Dean. I-"

"Cas, it's been over ten years since I last saw you. I called for you so many times. I prayed for you to show yourself and you never showed up." Dean clenched his hands into fists and tried his very best not to raise his voice into a shout. "I got over the fact that my best friend abandoned me. Heck, I slowly had started accepting the fact that I _might_ have imagined you all along. I actually started believing that I might be crazy."

The look on Castiel's eyes reflected his feelings. He was ashamed, he was regretting. "I didn't want to abandon you Dean. They left me no choice." Castiel snapped back.

Dean frowned. "They? Cas, what the fuck are you talking about?"

Castiel bit his lip as he realised he had spoken too much. "It's nothing. Please forget about what I just said."

"What-" Dean started, but stopped right away when the front door of his apartment opened slowly and Sam's curious face peeked out. "Sam." Dean sighed out upon seeing his brother.

Sam looked from head to toe at Castiel before turning to Dean. "You were taking an awful lot of time getting the pizza, but you don't seem to have any." He laughed. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" He asked, probably sensing the tense air between the two,

Castiel smiled at Sam kindly and took a step back. "It's fine. I'm just an old acquaintance of Dean's and I was just leaving." He then nods at Dean and begins to walk away."

"Cas, wait-" Dean calls without thinking. Castiel turns around on his heels to look at Dean and their eyes meet each other again briefly before Dean avoids Castiel's gaze awkwardly. "Would you like to join us? I've got beer and there's pizza coming up and I'd really like to catch up. If Sam doesn't mind, of course." He swallows. He can't believe he actually managed to say that.

Sam shrugs. "It's fine with me."

Dean and Castiel face each other and there's that smile Dean never shared with anyone else. A secret smile that only Castiel deserves, since even after being absent for 11 years, he still knows Dean the best and both of them know it.


	3. Chapter 3

Hangover was a rare, but not unfamiliar state for Dean. He knew his limits and almost never drank more than he knew he could handle. The previous night seemed to be an exception. Dean didn't remember anymore how many beers he had had and didn't really care. Being with Castiel again seemed to have an effect on him that made him not care about anything else.

He rolled in his bed and groaned. Certainly the fact that he had only crawled to bed at around 5 am didn't make him feel any better. It was 8.32 am, according to Dean's alarm clock, whose digits shined softly in the darkened room. He turned away from the clock as he thanked god that he didn't have work that day.

His head sank into his pillow and an image of Castiel from last night flashed in his mind. Dean remembered his lips reaching carefully towards the melted cheese dripping from on top of the pizza. He also remembered the slightly reddish face Castiel had after a few beers as the alcohol started having an effect on his vessel. The way he had just turned up at his door and came back into his life like he never was gone. Dean wanted to be mad at the angel, he really did, but when he saw the mixture of feelings in Castiel's eyes, he couldn't let him walk away. He knew that if he would get up from the safety of his bed, he would have to face the fact that he might have been too quick to forgive.

More than anything, Dean was afraid that at any moment he would disappear again. He didn't think his head could take that again. For his whole life he had convinced himself that Castiel was real. Despite the fact that his parents got him a psychiatrist at the age of 8 or that he stopped talking about Castiel by the time he was 9. He understood he would be stamped as insane if he would keep blabbering about an angel. He quickly had realised that lying would be the best option. He had kept seeing Castiel while asking a friend of his to cover up for him.

It amazed Dean how Castiel had so quickly, in less than a day, filled his thoughts again. He had closed the angel out of his mind completely after few years of his disappearance. Before that, he had almost every night prayed to Castiel, only hoping that he would answer and show him that he was actually okay. Eventually, his prayers became more irregular and in the end, he stopped doing it altogether.

"Morning Dean!" Sam announced cheerfully as he opened Dean's bedroom door with one push and flooded it with fresh morning light. Dean groaned in answer and pulled the sheets over his head to block out the sunlight. "Oh, come on! Get up or I will pull you out of bed!" He threatened in a commanding tone.

"Sam, I have a hangover." Dean yawned.

Sam rolled his eyes and leaned against the doorframe. "You promised to come with me today to see dad, remember?" Dean didn't say anything and faked a snore, implying that he didn't care and wanted to sleep. "Fine, then I'll eat that pie I was planning on buying all by myself." Sam said and grinned.

* * *

"I can't believe I actually fell for that." Dean muttered as they walked towards their father's room.

Sam chuckled. "Oh come on, I promised to buy that pie for you." He stopped at a door and read the name tag next to it. "I think this is it." He sighed and knocked on the door. "Dad, it's me, Sam." He called before opening door.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" John answered, being kind of surprised as his two sons entered the small hospital room. "It's good to see you too, Dean." He nodded to the elder brother.

Dean flashed a slightly awkward smile to his father nervously. "Hey Dad" He answered with a kind of shaky voice before sitting down on the nearest chair.

Sam glared at Dean quickly before pulling a chair closer to John's bed. "Didn't Dean tell you? I came here to help with things while you're in the hospital."

"No, he didn't say anything, but how is school, Sam?" John smiled at Sam and they proceeded to have a small conversation about Sam's life at Stanford. Dean on the other hand leaned his head against the wall and stared at the ceiling while the conversation flowed through from one ear to another. Sam excitedly told their father how he enjoyed school a lot and told him about friends he had made and, of course, Jessica Moore, his girlfriend of almost three years. Dean felt like a failure sometimes, compared to his amazingly smart little brother. He himself worked only as a mechanic and he had just broke up with the only woman he had actually managed to maintain a healthy relationship with for more than two months. Not exactly the most amazing life when his brother was on his way to become a lawyer.

Suddenly a nauseating feeling rushed through him. Actually, more like anxiety, but he was sure that he wanted to get out of the room. He muttered a quick excuse to Sam and John before rushing out of the room and into the hallway. He leaned against the wall opposing the door, trying to breathe slowly.

"Are you okay?" Dean's eyes shot up, seeing a young petite brunette with a worried look on her face.

He straightened himself and forced a smile on his lips. "I'm alright, I just felt a little dizzy. I'm sorry to have worried you, miss…?" _Why the fuck not, _Dean thought as his smile changed into one he had when he was hitting on girls. It had already been over a month since his and Lisa's break up and there had not been any action in his life since then, which honestly was quite an achievement from Dean.

The woman giggled. "I'm Sarah." She said while answering to Dean's smile.

"Well, Sarah, would you like to join me for a cup of coffee?"

"I would love to." She answered and turned on her heels. "The café is this way, right?"

They grabbed coffees with them and decided to head outside, as the sun was finally shining after almost two weeks of continuous raining. Dean felt slight guilt for running off, but he had his phone, so if Sam or John wondered where he went, they could just call.

Sarah led Dean to a quiet corner without anyone else around and they settled down on a bench. "So, how long has your father been admitted?" She asked curiously.

"Uh, two weeks, I think." Dean sipped his coffee and glanced over to Sarah. She definitely looked nice, her hair curly and about shoulder length, her face was roundish and eyes had a beautiful shade of blue with a hint of brown around the pupil. _Not as beautiful colour as Castiel's_, Dean thought for a second before pushing the image of the angel's perfect blue eyes out of his head. "How about your sister?"

She gave Dean a weak smile. "For almost half a year now. She still hasn't shown any signs of waking up." She quickly stood up, absently taking a few steps forward. "Do you ever-" She started, but stopped to consider what she was going to say. "Do you think your life is decided for you and no matter what you do, you can't change it?"

Dean frowned, kind of surprised by the question. "Okay? That was random?" Still Dean bit into his lip and thought seriously about the question for a moment. "No, I don't think anyone can decide how my life's going to be and if some fucking idiot really thinks that it's possible, I just prove them wrong."

"Oh." Sarah breathed out. She sighed before she spun around, meeting Dean's eyes with her own, which were completely black now. Her lips were twisted into a creepy grin, causing Dean to shudder. "This might be a little unfortunate for you then." She laughed while getting closer to Dean.

"What's up with those eyes?" Dean laughed nervously, leaning back as much as he could.

Sarah leaned down so her face was only inches away from Dean's. "What? I'm not that attractive anymore?" She chuckled before her eyes flashed back to their original colour. Dean shifted slowly to his right to slip off the bench, but Sarah stopped him by getting him on his back with her left hand tightly around his neck. "Not so fast Darling. Even thought that guy prefers you alive, I probably won't be punished for killing you."

Dean's eyes widened. "Killing me?" He whispered, slight panic making his voice higher than usually.

A small smile twitched at the corner of Sarah's mouth. "Yes, killing you, so just come along nicely."

"No." Her grip on Dean's neck tightened and breathing became harder for him. His hands shot up to her hand pulling, fighting, just trying to get away. He couldn't accept that his life would end there, not now. A name came to his mind. He remembered words said long time ago and in his distress, he knew the person who said them would, without doubt, stand behind them.

"Cas-"

He breathed out the name quietly. It was almost like he would have only mouthed the name, but still he _knew_ he would hear. He knew Castiel would always hear. Even with his lidded eyes he saw a bright, white light that was so calming and he smiled. Sarah's hand on his throat lost its hold, falling off dead and letting air finally flow through his lungs. A relieved laugh escaped his lips. "Thanks for saving me Cas."

Castiel had a relieved look on his face as he gazed at Dean. "I promised you I would come to your aid if you ever needed it, even though you don't probably remember that promise."

Dean shook his head. "I remember, and I believed you'd keep your promise."

* * *

**AN: I'm being an idiot and wrote this chapter even though I have much more important stuff to do.**

**I'm really getting into this story though, so expect a new chapter again in a week. But it would make me really happy and would encourage me writing more if you would leave reviews, so feel free to leave some feedback or just your thoughts about the story so far! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I feel like this chapter is quite boring, too much talk. But I have too much free time now, as I'm finished with my graduating exams and I only have to study for the entrance exams that aren't before end of May, sooooo I'm probably going to write a lot. If I won't get lazy suddenly with this story, next chapter will be up soon! I'll get back to writing on Monday because I'll be away for the weekend.**

* * *

Dean collapsed on the sofa and dragged his fingers along the marks around his neck that had started to form with a pale colour. Castiel swallowed as he stared, his hands clenching on his sides. He had transferred Dean quickly back to his place, being the safest place Castiel knew at the moment. He should have been quicker though. It was his fault that Dean got hurt. He should have realised right away that something was wrong. "Is everything alright?" Dean asked quietly as his breathing started slowly getting normal.

Castiel's blue eyes moved to Dean, the shock he was experiencing reflected by them. He parted his lips slightly, as he was about to say something, but no words came out. He took a hesitant step towards Dean, relief rushing through him as he realized that Dean was in fact okay. "My apologies Dean, it was my fault. If I wouldn't have-"

"Cas, it wasn't your fault. There is no way you would have known!" Dean interrupted Castiel. "What was that _thing_ anyway? "

Castiel sighed. "That thing was a demon." He said carefully, his fingers gripping the fabric of the trench coat he was wearing. "And it was my fault you were attacked. It was me who was trusted with the job of protecting you and I-" This time, Castiel himself interrupted his sentence as he realised that his tongue might have slipped a bit.

Dean scanned Castiel from head to toe and Castiel shivered under the stare. The human then jumped up and rushed to the fridge, soon returning with two cans of Coca-Cola in his hands. The other can he threw to Castiel and settled back on the sofa, pulling Castiel on it along with him. Castiel's eyes flickered between the coke and Dean, being really confused. Dean opened his can while laughing something about that he didn't want to drink more alcohol right now. After a second of silence, Castiel glanced quickly over to Dean, seeing him lick his lips and open his mouth. "Cas, we're going to sit here as long as it takes you to tell me the truth. Don't even think about lying, because I will know."

"I'm not hiding anything." Castiel objected, his eyes staying settled on the can he held between his hands. Thoughts of shame filled his head, knowing that he was lying through his teeth.

"Oh yes you are and it clearly concerns me. Now, I'm guessing the folks in heaven gave you an order to protect me?" He said, his gaze never leaving Castiel. The angel could feel Dean's eyes on him, making him feel even more guilt, blame, or whatever he was feeling. "For god's sake, I'm a normal guy from Lawrence! There is obviously some fucking weird reason they want to keep tabs on me!"

Castiel admitted that he had underestimated Dean, or maybe himself. He was so sure he could keep his mission secret from Dean. It had been made _very _clear to Castiel that he wasn't allowed to tell anything to Dean, absolutely nothing at all about the human's greater purposes in life. Purposes that Castiel did not feel were fair for Dean.

He swallowed and opened the can in his hands. "I can't tell you Dean." He muttered after drinking about third of the can at once. "I was forbidden to tell you about their plans for you. Believe me, I don't want to lie to you, but I cannot tell you the truth." Their eyes met and more than anything, Castiel hoped that above his other feelings, Dean would see his sincerity.

Dean gave a nervous laugh and backed up when he realised that Castiel had leaned so close that their faces had only been inches away from each other. "Is there any way for you to tell me?" Dean said, still not breaking their eye contact.

"Dean, I want to." Castiel whispered and bit into his lip hesitantly. He sighed, breaking the eye contact as his eyes moved down. "All I can say is that they have _big_ plans for you and they sent me to keep you alive and well because of it."

Rolling his head in annoyance, Dean leaned backwards into the soft back of the sofa. "Okay, I can understand that you can't tell me what they are planning for me, but can you tell me who _they_ are?" He scowled.

Castiel nervously looked at Dean again while debating inside his head whether he should, or actually could, tell him that. He didn't recall any word that he couldn't tell Dean about his superiors, only about their cause. "My superiors, they-" Castiel started slowly talking. "They're angels, like me. I have only met one of them. His name is Zachariah and he leads my garrison. The ones in higher positions don't tend to meddle with the likes of me." His fingers fiddled with the now empty can as he spoke, carefully thinking each word that left his lips. "I get all my orders from Zachariah, who gets them from the higher ups."

It got quiet between them for a minute or two as Dean thought about what Castiel had just told him. "So if I'm so important, why did they assign you as my protector? I mean, from what I understood, you're not really on top of the stairs in your angel-hierarchy. "

Castiel hesitated again. They definitely hadn't mentioned him about anything else than the things involved with his mission. They had told him not to tell Dean about his mission under any circumstances, but apparently they hadn't expected for Dean to grow suspicious. Nothing else was ever mentioned. If he said something he shouldn't he could just say that he didn't know. "They thought you would trust me, since you've known me for almost your whole life."

Dean snorted at that, which on the other hand surprised Castiel. He made a confused look, not exactly seeing what was so funny. "I just thought that it wasn't any less suspicious that you just happened to show up at my door after 11 years." Dean explained. "I would really love to hear the reason for your sudden disappearance though."

Castiel nodded. He knew the question would rise up sooner or later, he just had hoped it would come up later than now. "I want you to know that I didn't want to do it." Castiel muttered, his rough voice wavering slightly. "It was an order from the highest, there was no way I would have been able to disobey. From the very start I had to hide our friendship as it was forbidden to approach you unless it was absolutely necessary." His lip trembled as he remembered the day he got caught. He wasn't exactly left unpunished back then. "I was locked in heaven until now after they found out."

Dean couldn't stop himself and leaned closer to hug Castiel, leaving the angel surprised. Eventually he gave himself into the hug, wrapping his hands awkwardly around Dean and snuggled his head against the other man's chest. "You can't believe how worried I was." Dean whispered while his hands tightened possessively around Castiel.

They stayed in that position, completely happy with it until Dean's phone started playing the first chords of Dean's ringtone. Dean tried to ignore it, but Castiel peeked up to his face. "Aren't you going to answer that, Dean?"

Sighing, he let Castiel go and got up from the sofa. "What?" He grumbled to the phone as he ran his hand through his short hair.

"_Dude, where did you run off to?!" _Castiel heard someone yell from the other end and the look on Dean's face looked like he just remembered something. Dean glanced at Castiel before he turned around and walked to the kitchen, listening to the other persons ranting.

"Sam, calm down." Dean assured his brother as he turned around, only to see that Castiel was disappeared once again.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I had some difficulties writing this chapter and I have no Idea why. I'm kind of afraid that I'm going to have a writer's block again, but I really want to keep writing this.**

**I think this is a boring chapter (Again) but I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

"Castiel," his head turned around quickly, facing an angel in the body of an older man. His already little hair had completely disappeared from the top of his head and his bulky form was covered by an expensive black suit. "It's great to see you again."

Castiel nodded carefully. "Zachariah," He muttered, his fingers sinking into the armrests of the chair. Truth to be told, the room Castiel was sitting in at the moment, in front of Zachariah's huge desk, made him really anxious. The room was really decorative, pompous even. It reminded Castiel of baroque. "It-It is nice to see you, too." He answered, swallowing his nervousness the best he could.

Zachariah walked behind his desk and settled on his chair comfortably. A smile spread to his lips when he saw Castiel watch him with submission and caution. "I bet you can guess why I summoned you here." He laughed and Castiel nodded again. He didn't really like his new superior. Zachariah was arrogant and often gave missions assigned to him forward to his subordinates. Certainly the fact that Castiel had been close with his previous superior, who had disappeared some time ago didn't make didn't make their attitude any warmer. "How did that Winchester kid take your return?"

Castiel looked up to Zachariah and wondered whether he should tell him the truth. The other angel didn't seem to know that Castiel had already been caught, but still hesitated. He had learnt a long time ago that he would get punished even from the slightest mistakes, but he would get even worse punishment if he would get caught from lying. "He is-" He started, then cleared his throat. "Dean Winchester hasn't yet had any suspicions." He lied, deciding it would still be better option, despite the punishment. He didn't want to be separated from Dean again. "We did have a slight demonic problem, but I solved that quickly."

"That is good." Zachariah sneered. He didn't really seem interested how Castiel was doing with his mission and Castiel knew that Zachariah wasn't happy when a lower class angel was chosen for such an important job as protecting Dean Winchester. He still could remember Zachariah's disappointed face when he explained Castiel his orders, clearly annoyed.

"Well-" Castiel mumbled after a short pause in conversation. "Did you have anything else for me or may I go now?" His head tilted to his side in his usual manner and his blue eyes stared questionly at Zachariah. "I have to return to my mission after all."

The last comment Castiel _might_ have added only to tease Zachariah and apparently it worked as he grunted at Castiel. "Just one more little thing," He answered while leaning backwards on his chair. "The higher-ups want you to report to me once a week. It's nothing impossible, just tell me everything in a summarised form."

Castiel nodded once more. "Until next week then." He said before transferring away from Zachariah's office. He didn't want to spend any more time in that irritating room and wanted to return to Dean as fast as he could.

But Dean wasn't there by the time Castiel got back. He went through the whole apartment –fairly large living room combined with a kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom– a few times, but there was no trace of his human friend, only a note scribbled with a rushed writing. _Cas, just in case you come back: I went to get food, your favourite. I'll be back soon._

Castiel stared at the note in his hands. He sensed Dean few blocks away, but decided not to zap himself there. First of all, Dean had explained Castiel a long time ago that he should avoid showing up in places filled with people. Apparently humans didn't find it normal. Secondly, he believed Dean would return soon and he didn't want to bother him. He was following Dean's presence much more closer now anyway, so he would know if something was wrong.

Settling down on sofa once more, Castiel eyed Dean's apartment curiously. His eyes fell on the stack of CDs lying next to a player. He smiled softly, remembering a time Dean had called 'educating'. Three hours of sitting inside Dean's small room and going through all the rock bands he loved. Castiel dropped on the floor and crawled closer. His eyes scanned each of the CD covers carefully, easily remembering each song Dean had sung along to, slightly off-key of course.

The door opened and closed, but Castiel didn't lift his gaze from the CDs. "Hello Dean." He said instead, in a slightly louder voice than usual.

"Uh, sorry, wrong person." Castiel turned around to see Sam standing at the door way. "Cas, right?" He asked while taking a few steps closer to the angel. "I don't think Dean introduced us properly. I'm Sam, though you probably already knew that."

"My name is Castiel actually." He mumbled.

Sam laughed and moved right next to Castiel. "That's what I guessed." He brushed few strands of hair off his face. "You know, this is going to sound weird, but are you that imaginary friend that Dean used to have when he was a kid. The angel who, if I remember correctly, was in fact called Castiel."

Castiel tilted his head while looking up to Sam. "I assure you, I'm not imaginary, but I suppose that is me." His fingers let go of the ACDC album he had been investigating the moment before and stood up, noticing the huge height difference between them. "I thought his family didn't believe I was real."

Shrugging, Sam took a step back, slightly uncomfortable with the lack of personal space. "He didn't ever ask my opinion. Besides, you seem very real to me. I don't know for the angel-part, because you seem human, but who knows, you could prove me wrong."

Castiel stared Sam in surprise. He had heard many things about Sam along the years he had known Dean, both good and bad. Generally, he had the picture that Sam was a really awesome brother and they got along well. Sometimes Dean had told him about their 'prank wars', which Castiel actually had found quite amusing. Still, Sam was completely different he had imagined, at least according to the small first impression he had gathered from the two encounters. "I am an angel, really." He assured to Sam.

I'm not-"

"I'm back!" Dean announced, coming inside his apartment loudly. He walked deeper into the apartment and saw the two with quite surprised looks on their faces. "Cas, you're back. Moreover, what 's up with you two?" He wondered, setting down a paperback on the table.

Castiel glanced at Sam before rushing to Dean, invited by the smell of fresh cheeseburgers that was hovering in the air. He took one from the bag into his hands, excitement bubbling inside of him. "I haven't eaten these in years." He said as his mouth already watered at the thought of eating his favourite food.

"Figured as much." Dean laughed and also took one.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: I surprised even myself by writing this chapter in two days. Maybe that block isn't coming back after all? But now I'm again on those streaks that I feel that everything I write is really badly written. Despite that, I seem to keep writing!**

* * *

"Dean? Are you here?" Castiel called as he arrived to Dean's place. There was no answer and the whole room was darkened with no one in sight. Dean had mentioned about going out before Castiel had left to do his weekly report, mumbling something that he was not going to spend a Friday night alone, locked up in his apartment. Castiel had reluctantly agreed after Dean had promised that he would call the angel immediately if he would spot something suspicious.

What surprised Castiel was Dean's presence lingering in the apartment, along with another presence Castiel didn't recognise. He headed to Dean's bedroom where he sensed the two, but stopped at the door when he heard a low voice groan in pleasure. Castiel's heart jumped at that and his hands shot up from the door handle. He had a pretty good guess what was happening inside the room, especially after he heard another voice, a female's, moan Dean's name loudly. Still, curiosity got the best of him as his fingers reached the handle again and twisted, leaning in to open the door only a little bit.

Castiel's face flushed with red when he saw Dean and the woman on the bed. They were embracing each other as they moved in a rhythm. Castiel swallowed, eyes widening before he turned around from the sight. He didn't close the door, though, continuing to hear them make animalistic sounds. Dean's voice was so-

He jumped and as he was scared of his thoughts just now, he rushed away from Dean's door, to the other side of the apartment, to the room that was serving as Sam's at the moment. Castiel figured Sam wouldn't mind him borrowing his room. Sam himself was spending the night with an old friend of his, so it was not like he would use it that night.

"_That was what they called sex, right?" _Castiel wondered, curling up in a ball on the bed. Castiel had few times turned up in Dean's room while he had been making out with some girls but never during sex. Dean's breathing and moans echoed in his head, even though he couldn't possibly hear it from where he was.

Castiel stayed like that for what might have been hours or only minutes. He shifted when he heard the sound of bare feet walking across the wooden floor of the living room and recognised the firm steps as Dean's. It sounded like Dean walked around the room before heading towards the room Castiel was in and Castiel stiffened completely. "Cas?" Dean whispered as he opened the door with a creak. "You alright?"

Slowly, Castiel lifted his head up and for a second, he wanted nothing more than for Dean to wrap his arms around him and embrace him. He pushed that thought away and noticed Dean's clothing, or actually the lack of it. He was only wearing his underwear, his well-toned body completely bare. Castiel felt blush creeping on his face again. "Yes, I am alright." His voice sounded bit off at the first syllable, but returned to normal after that.

Dean swallowed before taking a step inside. "You saw us, right? I'm sure that I closed the door, but it was open afterwards." He spoke softly, carefully. Not like he usually did.

Castiel stared into Dean's eyes. Castiel could see the awkwardness and embarrassment. "Sorry." Castiel muttered before tearing his eyes away. "I saw you-" He breathed out, searching for the right words to say. "My apologies Dean. I had no intent on spying you, I just was planning on seeing if you were alright and there you were." Castiel's nails dug into his arms as he spoke.

"Calm down Cas." Dean landed his hand on Castiel's shoulder, to which Castiel jumped, looking up again with his eyes wide. "I'm not blaming you for anything. It was my fault entirely that you had to witness that. You said that you wouldn't be back until really late so I assumed that I would be done with Anna before you would come back. Sorry that I was thoughtless."

Castiel shook his head. "It's alright. You probably have urges and I'm just in the way by being here all the time-"

To Castiel's surprise, Dean pulled him from the shoulder into his caring arms. "You're not in the way." Dean muttered while Castiel snuggled into the curve of his neck. For that moment, Castiel let his feelings take the best of him, just letting the human's warmth surround him. Somewhere deep he might have admitted that Dean was more than a friend to him, but his mind wouldn't yet connect that affection to that feeling humans called love.

Eventually, though still hesitating, Castiel dared to answer to the hug, his arms wrapping around Dean. Time passed and they were just there, leaning onto each other. Castiel didn't think, he just enjoyed the small moment they shared. "Dean?" Castiel eventually called, not quite sure how long they had been like that. Dean answered with a grunting noise, showing that he was listening. "Shouldn't you go back to bed?"

"It's fine, I'll just sleep here." He answered, probably half asleep. Dean pulled Castiel into the soft bed with him and shifted so they both are comfortable, but still in each other's arms. "Let's just be like this a little bit longer."

Castiel pressed his head against Dean's chest and listened to the even heartbeat. He briefly remembered the woman who was probably sleeping in Dean's bed at that moment. Still Dean was there, next to him. Castiel couldn't help but feel slightly pleased that he had been chosen over that woman, even though it may have been because Dean had been drunk and really tired.

* * *

As the sunlight begun seeping through a small gap between the curtains, Castiel's idle thoughts were interrupted by light, almost silent steps in the living room. His eyes moved between the door and Dean, before he gently shook Dean to wake up. "Dean?" He whispered, but the man just groaned unhappily.

Castiel shook his head, slipping away from Dean's hold. "Good morning." He said as he peeked through the half-opened door.

The woman, Anna if Castiel remembered correctly, was kind-looking. Beautiful red hair curled lightly on her shoulders, her skin was pale and her eyes had a warm look in them. Her figure was small and thin. Castiel could see she was exactly the type Dean liked. "Um, good morning." She answered, seeming surprised to see Castiel. "Are you Dean's brother? He said you wouldn't come back until later today."

"No, I'm his friend Castiel. " He said simply, taking steps into the room, closer to Anna.

"Okay, I'm Anna Milton." She said, nodding and offered her hand to Castiel. "Have we met earlier?" She asked as Castiel cautiously took her hand. "You just seem somehow familiar."

Castiel shook his head. "I don't think so." He mumbled, tilting his head. His eyes glanced at Sam's bedroom door, remembering Dean still sleeping in the bed. "Dean is sleeping over there, but I can try waking him up again if you want." He said, pointing towards the room. "We had a small talk last night and he just fell asleep there." He explained.

Anna smiled tenderly at Castiel and looked at his wristwatch. "It's alright, I have to get going anyway." Then she started digging her bag, taking out a paper where she then wrote her number on. "Could you just give this to Dean? Tell him it's alright if he doesn't want to see me again, he can just throw that away." She handed the paper to Castiel.

"I can do that."

Anna smiled to Castiel one last time before heading to the door. "Great. It was nice meeting you Castiel."

He nodded, still keeping his eyes on the paper in his hands. "It was nice meeting you too."

The number, neatly written on the small piece of paper along with a message "Call me". Castiel felt like throwing it away, making sure that Dean and Anna wouldn't meet again. He felt so much petty jealousy without even realising it. He just wanted Dean to embrace him like he had for the whole previous night. He just wanted to be like that every day.

But Castiel knew he couldn't just throw the number away. Instead, he just set it on the counter where Dean could take it if he wanted to and headed back to Sam's room to wake up Dean.


	7. Chapter 7

Two months passed in that simple life of theirs. Dean quickly had become accustomed to Castiel's presence, it possibly became a necessity even. Castiel gave Dean a peace of mind he hadn't experienced in years, just by being there.

Dean never questioned about Castiel's mission after that day. He understood that the angel couldn't just tell about it and let the whole thing be. He trusted Castiel that much and didn't regret it even for a second. He believed that Castiel would say something if the whole greater purpose he was meant for was bad.

"Dean!" Castiel breathed out as he showed up back in Dean's apartment. Dean moved his eyes from the random movie he was watching, his eyes widening at the shaggy state of Castiel's appearance. The usual tan trench coat was torn and everything was stained in blood. The beautifully dark hair was even messier than normally and in his hand, Castiel held a metallic blade. "We need to leave, _now._"

Getting up from the sofa, Dean slipped next to Castiel. "What's wrong? Why do we need to leave?" He frowned, examining Castiel's tense expression. "Are you hurt?"

Castiel lifted his hand to Dean's chest, looking up in the confused eyes. "I promise I'll explain everything later, now I need you to trust me." He licked his lips and his gaze dropped to his hand on Dean. "My apologies, this is probably going to hurt a bit." He whispered and suddenly, a sharp pain rushed through Dean's body, but only for a moment. "I carved sigil in your ribs so angels won't be able to track you. Now hurry up and gather your things." He said, turning away from Dean.

"Cas, where and for how long?" Dean stated, his fingers getting a hold of Castiel's wrist. His voice was calm, but a hint of nervousness could be heard.

Castiel shook his head slowly. "I don't know answer to either one of your questions. We have to get out of town, fast and I don't know for how long."

Dean gently bit his lip. "What about Sammy, or dad," he muttered. "Or Anna." His voice cracked at her name and Castiel, he shivered, pulling his hand from Dean and shifting his eyes away. "I think I am really starting to like her. I can't leave."

"This is not about your feelings, Dean." Castiel hissed, his hand tightening around the metallic blade in his hand. "This is about your life, along with about half the planet. You have no other choice."

"If you want me to go with you then at least explain me why."

"I told you, I'll explain you la-" Dean froze, seeing a fairly mean-looking man standing behind Castiel. He had a similar blade as Castiel, now soaked with the angel's blood as it had sunk into his rib just seconds before. "Uriel," Castiel said, his blade now pointing at the man as he took steps backward. "I guess I can't say it's good to see you, brother."

Uriel laughed, his voice low and grim. "Why are you taking this human's side Castiel? He's better off with Michael." His eyes examined the dripping red blood on his blade and grinned. "This whole world is better that way."

Castiel's free hand gripped Dean as he kept eyeing Uriel carefully. "Our father would not have wanted this." He stated, his hand gripping around Dean's arm so hard that it hurt. "He told us to love humans, but this is far from love." Dean's looked to Castiel, who pretended to be so brave, but in fact he trembled and Dean felt it through his hand.

"Well, you seem to be obeying father's orders like a good little soldier." Uriel snickered. "Maybe a little too well." He added, glancing at Dean. Castiel turned his head to Dean with just a light hint of red spread along his face. Dean shot a confused look to Castiel, who just turned away again.

"I don't-" Castiel swallowed. "I don't understand what you mean."

Uriel shook his head, sighing deeply. "It doesn't matter. You'll die now." And with that said, Uriel threw his blade at Castiel. Dean felt an adrenaline rush, seeing Cas in danger. He jumped in front of the angel, covering his body with his own and screaming his name.

He expected a pain in his back and he waited. Seconds passed, but no pain came. When his eyes opened, they were in the Impala that was parked outside Dean's apartment. His arms were wrapped around Castiel. "Dean, start driving, now." His voice was harsh, but Dean did as he was told and headed out of the city.

"You want to explain me now what the hell is going on?" Dean growled while his fingers drummed impatiently on the steering wheel. They had already driven 20 minutes out of the town in complete silence and Castiel's blue eyes that had been staring out of the window now turned to Dean.

He nodded. "I suppose I do owe you an explanation." He muttered.

"And it better be a good one."

Castiel breathed deeply. "The apocalypse has started, Dean." Dean kept silent, expecting for Castiel to continue. "My brother Lucifer was freed from the cage and there is supposed to be a huge fight between him and Michael." Then Castiel hesitated and Dean exactly knew why. All this seemed to somehow connect to him.

Dean rolled his eyes and looked towards Castiel. "Out with it Cas."

"Dean, you are-" His voice was still quiet, Dean could barely hear it. "You are the most ideal vessel for Michael."

Dean licked his lips before speaking. "So you're saying that I'm supposed to give up my body to an angel just because of some petty sibling fight?" He asked and Castiel nodded. "Great, just great. Tell me again why we are running? Isn't Lucifer going to win is Michael won't get a vessel."

Castiel didn't answer and despite Dean's tries to get the angel talk, they didn't talk for the rest of that day's drive at all.

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**AN: I had little difficulties writing this chapter. I'm much better writing about emotions than fights and action, so part of this story will probably be hard for me to write. I should learn to write scenes like that anyway so...**

**Oh and, yes Dean is still Michael's vessel in this one. The fact that he didn't become a hunter doesn't change his lineage. And there was someone else to break the first seal, but you'll probably learn more about that later~**


End file.
